Castrated. That's how I feel right now.
Three of my guild members' children are gone, and there are no easy solutions. You'd think that after Shalltear Bloodfallen's brainwashing, I'd learn, but apparently, not.
My options are limited. The mere anomalous spatial structure and geometric asymmetry of this place posed many challenges that aren't easy to overcome.
Time is also an asymmetric factor here, almost like it doesn't exist.
I cannot stop time in this reality, since the concept apparently exists only loosely, as theorized by the Demiurge. I also cannot conjure a teleportation gate to another level because it is, in effect, another plane of existence.
However, there is a way to circumvent this — the [ Wish Upon A Star Spell ].
I was able to wish my way out of here, then wish for a stable portal that allowed free access. This wished portal was wider than the [ Gate ] spell entrance; it was white, shaped like a colossal mirror with a murky, swirling, smoky effect.
Demiurge theorized that our problems here can be solved with the [ Wish Upon A Star ] spell. I only have one ring with three free charges left — a gift from Teacher Yamaiko.
The spell exacts a heavy toll, and I'd rather not cast it directly.
My spirit burned in invisible fury.
"Reinhard van Astrea." I imagined a [ Grasp Heart ] spell killing him.
"Jin Woo Sung." I imagined him being tortured by Neuronist Painkill.
"Megumi Fushiguro." Hundreds of cockroaches swarm and eat his insides.
"Izuku Midoriya." Killed and harvested.
"Kiyotaka Ayanokoji." Turned into a death knight.
"Kakeru Ryuen." Turned into a death knight.
At least four of these great offenders were Japanese citizens. The biggest offender was this man named Jin Woo Sung, who has necromantic control over the three Pleiades maids.
I stopped pacing around, sighing. My stomach hurts, but I have none.
A couple of days ago, I personally summoned and created a new forward charge force. Three doom lords, boosted by my unique class and skills, were sent to scout and return with information. It was also accompanied by death knights, death warriors, death priests, death wizards, and death assassins.
I gave them some scrolls and disposable items for recording, creating pictures, surveying, and miscellaneous surveillance scrolls.
A three hundred-strong force, made up of elite and middle-tier undead and supported by lower-tier summons. It was defeated, and the undead principal force was gone. That meant that the enemies that we're up against are beyond level seventy-eight in strength.
Only a single death wizard was able to return. It immediately gave what it knew and had, the names and descriptions of the aggressors and the state of that dimension.
The three maids were dead. "Shit! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! Damn them!" I cursed, cursing those pieces of shit who attacked my innocent children.
I then calmed down, emotional suppression kicking up.
Anyways, the guild system didn't notify me of their deaths, nor did the system notification display their current status.
Demiurge said that it was due to the asymmetric temporal span. He explained it in terms that others could easily understand. When you're on a different level, the guild's magical sensors wouldn't know that you're dead, alive, or under control.
The Master Source is not all-knowing.
The established game rules still constrained it, and it didn't have any 'new world creative interpretation', unlike some items, skills, or equipment.
The Master Source reverts to the last known status the moment someone enters the Threshold through the wish portal, and that's usually the alive status.
It's like when you're in a game, and you change an amount through cheats without updating the world. I remember that crops-versus-undead game where you cheatingly insert an amount, and unless you spend or earn more energy-suns, it will display '100'.
But the moment you spend something, it goes '9999999'.
That's the gist of what Demiurge explained. Since there's no dead body for the guild system to assume/dissipate, and factoring in the spatial-temporal unalignment, the status bar is stuck in the alive status.
"Shit!"
I struck at the yellow wall beside me, embedding my skeletal fist. I struck at it again and again and again. My undead emotional suppressor was working overtime; it activated after each strike at the wall.
I calmed down, but my anger remained, simmering.
I collapsed at the makeshift throne that I had made, grasping my head. My emotional suppressor activated again and again. It didn't stop, periodically activating every ten seconds.
"Solution Epsilon."
That trilling sound came, but it didn't calm me.
"Lupusregina Beta."
That trilling sound came, but it didn't calm me.
"Entoma Vasilissa Zeta."
That trilling sound came, but it didn't calm me.
Revenge is a dish best served cold and tortured. As of right now, this Jin Woo Sung is the biggest threat. My innocent children, dead and turned into thralls by a lesser necromancer. I will absolutely make him suffer!
Death is a mercy to those who cross with Nazarick.
I don't intend to give these offenders any mercy. I will study and rip them apart, see how they tick, and then turn them into my thralls.
An eye for an eye.
However, I need to face reality. For some reason, any undead I summon becomes his sort of undead. The demon lord I sent over was defeated, then apparently re-summoned by this 'Arise' spell.
That death assassin was proving its worth with this new information. The undead principal force wasn't a failure after all.
The sound of footsteps approached, then stopped before me. "Ainz-sama, we have captured a being of great interest to you," Demiurge said, already equipped with that polite grin.
"Are they of relevance to the current crisis?" I asked, my hollowed eyes, sparking in silent anticipation. I needed to release this pooling anger.
"He willingly surrendered and cooperated. We then probed and pried his brain, but we found nothing of substance. His name is Muzan Kibutsuji. A demon with unique powers."
"Study and prod, otherwise kill him. I am not interested." I answered.
Demiurge approached and pulled out another stack of paper from the folder that he was carrying. "Ainz-sama, there's a development regarding 'Operation: Star Rescue'."
"There is!? What is it, tell me, Demiurge? Spare no information!" I said, motioning a single slicing gesture with my arm. I needed to be assertive and strong; the NPCs rely on me as a figure of stability. I need to act like it.
"The great offenders have left and are no longer guarding the entrance. They've most likely fled and are looking for the exit or another entrance."
"Have they left? Truly?" I muttered, cautious yet disappointed. We were currently looking for another entrance to that level, then surprise them with an attack.
"Yes, I have reason to believe that they're fleeing because they're looking for another level. They're powerful, but in the end, they're still humans, Ainz-sama. The idea of defending and consolidating an area with scarce supplies is grim."
Demiurge smiled. "We've brought in the best tracking beasts. Aura and Mare are tracking them. They're still humans; they need to rest at some point."
"Ainz-sama! I do not see a possibility of them escaping us. We have all the time, and they're permanently stuck here." As soon as Demiurge declared that, a powerful surge of magical energy passed through us.
The only NPCs in that general direction are Shalltear and Sebas. "Demiurge! Raise the maximum security level! I am heading for those two right now."
Then Shalltear and Sebas instantly appeared in front of me. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I was still deathly worried since Shalltear was in her battle armor.
"Ainz-sama! We have a big problem!" Shalltear shouted! Sebas was behind her, looking grim. "There's an immortal vampire and a young human who can cast super-tier magic."
Suppose I had a throat and stomach. I would've vomited due to stress at this point.
All I wanted was to explore, but problematic points kept piling up. That trilling sound came, but it didn't calm me. "Tell me about these problems, Shalltear," I added, my tone dripping with intense anger.